7 yummy chicken dinners

I should feel guilty about this post, after all I do have five chooks as pets. But somehow I’ve managed to divorce the bird from the plate. And so … here are seven of my favourite chicken dinners.

Recipe: Chicken with spicy capsicum

This dish was inspired by my love of a classic Chinese dish called Ma Po Do Fu. I decided to try using the spicy flavours in a totally new way and I’m relieved to say it was a winner. Husband’s verdict was “restaurant quality” – bless him – though in a restaurant he wouldn’t have to wash up.

4 chicken schnitzel fillets (sans crumbs – they sell them in Woolies)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Spicy capsicum sauce:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3-pack tri-colour capsicums (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow), diced

4 green shallots, sliced

2 tsps chilli bean sauce (available from Asian speciality stores)

2 tsps soy sauce

2 tsps tomato paste

METHOD: Toss chicken fillets in oil, soy, ginger and garlic. Marinate 2 hours. Reserve marinade. Grill fillets until no longer pink. Spicy capsicum sauce: heat oil in a heavy-based frying pan and saute capsicum and shallots until tender. Scrape in remains of chicken marinade, add chilli bean sauce, soy and tomato paste. Stir-fry 1 minute and serve with chicken, steamed rice and veggies.

Recipe: Zaatar chicken with roasted tahini vegies

I stocked up on armloads of Syrian delicacies on a recent trip to Lane Cove Markets, including a tub of the freshly made zaatar – an exotic spice mix containing herbs and spices such as sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, cumin, oregano and salt. (Just make sure to check the ingredients for any sneaky carbs.)

I used it as inspiration for a feast I served my sister when she popped over to console me this week – zaatar-rubbed chook with a dish of roasted cauliflower and zucchini in tahini sauce.

Preparing the dish lead to an entertaining exchange between the kids. The eldest announced to the youngest that Mummy had stuffed a lemon up the chook’s bum. And the youngest replied in horror: “Not one of our chooks?”

No, fortunately Nibble and Pecky have avoided citrus enemas.

1 large free-range chook

3 tablespoons of zaatar + 1 teaspoon

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons, one juiced, one cut into quarters

1 small cauliflower head, cut into florets

1 large zucchini, cut into fat chunks

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup yoghurt

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

METHOD: Heat oven to 180C. Mix 3 tablespoons zaatar with 1 tablespoon olive oil to make a paste. Rub over chicken. Stuff lemon wedges in chicken cavity. Place on a baking tray and roast for 1 hour. Toss cauliflower and zucchini in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and arrange on an oven tray, sprinkle with sesame seeds and place in oven for last 25 minutes of chook roasting. Make the tahini sauce by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and sauteing the garlic gently until soft. Stir in tahini,  yohurt, juice of 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon of zaatar. Drizzle sauce over cauliflower and zucchini and serve with roast chicken.

Recipe: chicken noodle soup

1 litre chicken stock (check it’s gluten free) + 1 litre water

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce

2 large chicken breast fillets

250g rice-stick noodles

1 bunch baby bok choy, roughly chopped

Chilli, if desired

METHOD: Place stock, water, celery, carrot, garlic, ginger and chicken breasts in a stock pot. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and cover. Leave for 15 minutes. Remove chicken breasts, keep warm. Return stock to the boil. Add rice-stick noodles. Simmer three minutes. Add baby bok choy. Simmer until rice-stick noodles are  cooked. Serve in bowls with sliced chicken breast fillet and sprinkled with chilli, if desired.

Recipe: Chinese poached chicken with spicy sauce

When I lived in Singapore I was hooked on a dish called Hainanese chicken rice. Poached chicken, a spicy dipping sauce, a few rings of cucumber and rice cooked in chicken stock (or, more likely, fat – how else could it taste so good?). Such a simple dish but brimming with flavour.

I took my mum to try it when she visited me, but it wasn’t her thing – she poured curry sauce over the rice. I stifled a gasp.

We’ve been recreating the dish at home recently and the kids love it. Sprog 1 slurps the spicy sauce, Sprog 2 has hers without.

3-4 chicken breast fillets
1 cup chicken stock (Massell is gluten-free)
1 cup jasmine rice
4 tablespoons soy sauce (make sure it’s gluten-free)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon finely chopped, fresh red chilli
Fresh coriander, chopped
2 green shallots, chopped

Method: Place the chicken breasts in a large saucepan. Pour over chicken stock and enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Remove chicken from stock and cover with foil on a plate to keep warm. Add rice to the leftover stock – top up with a little extra water if necessary – bring to the boil and cook until tender, then drain. While the rice is cooking, dice some cucumber and make the dipping sauce by mixing together the soy, lime, garlic and chilli. To assemble the dish, pack rice into a small Chinese bowl. Place a dinner plate over the bowl then invert to give yourself a lovely, neat mound. Thickly slice the chicken breast and arrange on each plate. Sprinkle with coriander and shallots. Add little dishes of sauce and diced cucumber on the side. Serve.

Recipe: Roast chicken with saag paneer

1 roast chook

1 bunch silverbeet, white parts removed

2 tablespoons chilli-infused olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsps ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

200g paneer cheese (available from supermarkets in the feta section), cubed

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup water

1 cup passata (purely because I had some leftover in the fridge, optional – a couple of diced tomatoes might also be nice)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

METHOD: Blanch the silverbeet in boiling water for five minutes, drain and refresh under cold water. Heat oil in heavy based frying pan. Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and ginger, saute 2 more minutes. Add spices. Saute 1 more minute. Place silverbeet and onion mixture in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Return to frying pan with passata, cream and water. Stir to combine. Add diced paneer. Simmer five minutes. Serve with quarters of barbecued chicken.

Recipe: African chicken & peanut stew

Peanut oil

3 medium onions, finely diced

8 chicken thigh cutlets

Salt

1 tsp chilli powder

1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste blended with 4 tablespoons of water

750ml boiling water

250ml peanut butter (salted variety)

2 sweet potatoes or 1/2 butternut pumpkin, cut into 5cm chunks

250g corn kernels

4 carrots, cut into chunks

1 bunch of spinach, chopped

Pinch of paprika

1 cinnamon stick

METHOD: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pot and saute the onions and chicken pieces until the chicken is browned and onion is soft. Stir in the chilli powder, tomatoes and tomato paste. Blend the boiling water and the peanut butter together and stir until smooth. Add to pot. Stir and simmer for 40 minutes. Add all the vegetables, cinnamon and paprika and season with salt. Stir and simmer gently until vegetables are soft and the sauce is thick. Serve with rice or cous cous.

Recipe: Oven-fried chicken